Ackermann to freshen up Bulls team for URC tour finale in Glasgow

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann says he will rotate his players for the United Rugby Championship tour finale against the Warriors in Glasgow on Friday, as the tough northern hemisphere conditions have taken a toll on bodies.

The Bulls lost heavily to Ulster in their opening match and narrowly edged Connacht 28-27 in Galway at the weekend. Ackermann also has to adhere to Springbok resting protocols.

“At this stage, Wilco Louw and Canan Moodie will go back home, and one or two others as well,” Ackermann said.

“We are going to rotate the squad purely to give some guys a mental and physical break.”

“The 4G pitches are taking their toll on the bodies,” the coach added.

“There are a lot of bruises and a lot of skin off knees and elbows at the moment in the change room. It is a tough old tour. But then again, we are getting it out of the way early, and luckily we’ve got a few games back in South Africa.”

After four rounds, Ackermann’s side sits sixth on the log with three wins and one defeat. While a decent start, the Bulls are not firing on all cylinders.

Defensive lapses are a concern — they have conceded 18 tries in four matches — and pressure situations remain challenging. Mistakes allowed Connacht a late chance to steal the game, with flyhalf Sean Naughton missing a conversion.

“We’re grateful we got over the line,” Ackermann said.

“But I felt we did a lot of good things, and we probably won’t feel too guilty about the victory. I thought we were in control for the majority of the game.”

“The ability and skills are there, but we tend to switch off. I spoke to some players, and they said it is still going to be a big work-on for us.

"We are fully in control, and then one little mistake snowballs, and we let the other side in. Every week you play quality sides that can punish you when you make mistakes, so if we want to progress, we need to cut those errors.”